Jon Knitter

Trevor Prom 2014

By Jon Knitter

On any Saturday night, there are countless parties in LA. If you frequent these gatherings often, you tend to see many of the same folks week to week, just on different nights wearing different outfits. And they’re never talking about much beyond business - rarely are there parties with a truly worthwhile purpose.  Organized by The Trevor Project’s NextGen LA, The Trevor Prom on May 31 promoted not an album nor a film, but the simple idea that life is always worth living. Stars like Kelly Osbourne and Rumer Willis came out in support of LGBT youth at risk of suicide, and for one inspiring evening, the rooftop of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Beverly Hills became a beacon of hope for anyone feeling like an outcast. For one brief moment in the phoniest town on the planet, the elite gathered to support a cause deeply personal to all in attendance.

With the proceeds from the evening going to The Trevor Project, several hundred people enjoyed an evening of entertainment and enlightenment. The scene thrived with performances from stars including Shangela of RuPaul’s Drag Race dancing to a medley of pop hits. Soulful musician Eli Lieb performed acoustic renditions of George Michael’s Faith as well as his own songs including Young Love. Rumer Willis and the cast of LA’s hottest theater ticket For the Record were on hand commanding the crowd with their eclectic setlist. And hosts Jessica and Hunter of YouTube fame kept things light and bubbly with their signature style of humor. Present in all performances was a sense of pure heart and passion for the cause, palpable in every note. Guests enjoyed a night of fun, prizes, and saving lives through an organization hailed by the White House as a “Champion of Change”.

The Trevor Project originates from filmmakers Randy Stone, James Lescesne, and Peggy Rajski’s Oscar-winning 1994 short Trevor, the story of a gay 13-year-old shunned by his peers over his sexuality who attempts suicide. Four years later their film aired on HBO to critical and commercial acclaim, and their success with the movie inspired them to build a national, 24-hour suicide prevention resource in real life for LGBT kids. It was a revolution - the very first program of its kind – and today it can be considered nothing but a resounding success.

A program designed specifically for the challenges facing LGBT youth is absolutely necessary as the facts are simply harrowing: according to the Center for Disease Control, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual children. At the same time, only 60% of kids who require mental health care services actually receive them. With as little as a phone call, The Trevor Project helps over 100,000 kids annually to steer through the struggle of embracing their identities and coming to love themselves exactly as they are without hesitation.

The party came together in that very same spirit of love and self-empowerment. Representatives of the Trevor project kicked the evening off by taking to the stage and sincerely thanking the generous crowd for their support.  Although the project has a White House stamp of approval, the representatives stated it remains a grassroots effort, saying “It’s worth noting that Trevor isn’t funded by big government contracts or anything like that. Everything is funded by individuals like you, buying tickets tonight and coming to this event.”

On this cool summer night under the stars, Beverly Hills provided a perfect backdrop for the organization. The Trevor Project, born from a film, seems the kind of cause where Hollywood can truly make a difference. The tastemakers and influencers of this town have the power and responsibility to create an entertainment landscape that, through simply showing LGBT individuals living normal, healthy lives, subtly assuages those who feel alone and lack support from friends and family. It tells that kid way out in some less progressive town that shuns him, mocks him, tells him in ways quiet and loud he’s not wanted, that he belongs in this world. 

In this changing landscape where marriage equality is on the rise and seemingly each new month marks another constitutional ban struck down, and especially for those living in the comfort of a big progressive city such as LA, it’s become increasingly easy to forget there are stone-age pockets of the country where the dialogue of acceptance isn’t even in its embryonic stage. Such places seem to be where events like The Trevor Project Prom might have the best possible impact. Thousands of miles away, far from the lights and the glamour and the free booze, a young child lost in confusion with a secret she’s ashamed of and nobody on her side might see a photo of Kelly Osbourne supporting something called The Trevor Project and know she’s got a number to call.

Several organizations came together to make this important evening a reality. The city showed its support as the LA County Department of Public Health provided education and continued its new free condom campaign. “As men of color and minorities, you have to be on the lookout,” says Ariel Garcia, Event Coordinator for the campaign, noting higher rates of STDs. The program provides 10 free condoms by mail to anyone living in LA county and makes them available at locations throughout the city. Other sponsors included Freeway Insurance, Absolut Vodka, and Miller. One could only hope a person contemplating suicide might see such companies and the government offering their support as a sign of just how much the world is changing for the better - and just how much they truly belong in it. 

The Trevor Project representatives hosting the prom remained hopeful for the future, yet grounded in the present, where still too many young kids are afraid and without the support they need. “Although many communities are becoming more accepting and celebratory of who these kids are,” they said, “there is still a lot of work to do to spread the acceptance and love all over the world to help these kids survive and make it one more day toward their proms.” And so the evening, for all the fun it was, kept a somber undertone. Somewhere that night as we partied in LA with all our best intentions to raise money, odds were another kid was becoming another statistic.

From its inception, this party couldn’t be just another showbiz gala or an excuse for celebrities to feel good about themselves by championing the cause of the week. Though people still drank too much, though they exchanged business cards as usual, and it was a Hollywood party on the surface…it meant more. You could see memories of painful times in the eyes of many throughout the crowd, memories that couldn’t be subdued by the blaring music or the decadence of the occasion. Yet, at the same time, so many were smiling and laughing - certainly in part because these partygoers know the lifeline they once wished for long ago now exists.

To see how you can help save lives, get involved with The Trevor Project at www.TheTrevorProject.org. And if you or a loved one need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to call the Trevor Lifeline at 866-488-7386.